The EU and Ukraine have opened accession negotiations on the first thematic set of issues — known as the “fundamentals” cluster.
The cluster covers areas including the rule of law, fundamental rights, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and economic criteria, the Council of the EU said in a statement on Monday.
It includes five negotiating chapters: judiciary and fundamental rights; justice, freedom and security; public procurement; statistics; and financial control.
The EU has set interim benchmarks — targets that must be met — for the overall cluster and for the two rule-of-law chapters before negotiations can move into a concluding phase and chapters can be provisionally closed.
Benchmarks were also set for the provisional closure of the chapters on public procurement, statistics and financial control.
What the “fundamentals” cluster means
Negotiations on the fundamentals cluster are the first to be opened and the last to be closed in the accession process, with progress in this area determining the overall pace of talks, the Council said.
The accession process is merit-based, with monitoring continuing throughout negotiations on how well Ukraine aligns with and implements EU law — known as the acquis — and other European standards.
Ukraine’s future “is firmly anchored in the European Union”, Marilena Raouna, Cyprus’ deputy minister for European affairs, said in the statement published by the Council of the EU.
